Chimpanzee Sanctuary Northwest

Hope. Love. Home. Sanctuary

Burrito

Sweet Moments

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The other day I was able to capture such a tender moment between Jamie and Burrito. To witness these moments is a true honor. As we have shared in blogs before, recently Jamie and Burrito will share a barrel seat for breakfast, lunch, or dinner. On this day Jamie and Burrito shared a barrel while they groomed each other. They were perfectly situated by the playroom window so that they could have a view of the neighbors, you know, in case things went awry, but could also be relaxed enough for a grooming session. This newly blossomed friendship is so fun to watch. We all know Jamie as a serious and tough individual, but it’s nice to see her patient side, especially with a friend like Burrito.

This to me is such a power pose from Jamie. Can you feel that energy?!

This photo has a glare from the window, but I thought I would still share. Both Jamie and Burrito have their feet up, sitting on the barrel, watching the neighbors in the chute!

Happy St. Patrick’s Day!

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My goodness today was a busy day! We had two great parties for the chimps and a staff meeting too! The seven celebrate with a Hill forage and the weather couldn’t have been more perfect. On the other side Honey B, Willy B, and Mave celebrated with some pots of gold in the chute as well as a St. Patrick themed meal. What was on the menu you might be asking? Of course, there was lots of cabbage, beets, potatoes, and corn! Since today was so busy I thought maybe I would let the photos speak for themselves.

Here is a photo of the three’s pots of gold(en potatoes). It was a great day to eat in the chute and sit in the warm sunshine.

And another photo of what was for lunch!

Negra was the first one out for the party!

Jody got a few good hauls of cabbage.

Burrito didn’t do too bad either.

Missy zipped around everyone snatching up cabbage and potatoes left and right!

Annie took a more low key approach than Missy.

Foxie took a birds eye view approach.

And Jamie, well Jamie did every well for herself :).

I love this photo of her.

The three didn’t really want their photos taken today, but I managed to get a few.

When Mave saw lunch she got very excited! You can see she is pilo in this photo. Mave was hooting and asking for reassurance.

Willy B enjoying some corn!

And Honey B enjoying her pot of gold(en potatoes).

Sense of Humor in Chimpanzees

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Someone recently donated two cardboard forts for the chimpanzees. Mave and Willy B had a really good time playing in and destroying theirs yesterday, while the group of seven left theirs intact to see another day. It’s hard to tell in the photo below, but these are big forts – big enough for a chimpanzee to fit inside.

This morning as we were just opening up the chimp house, Foxie was in the room with the fort, just walking past it. We both did a double-take when we heard some rustling and what sounded like knocking coming from inside. I’m not much of a morning person, so I wasn’t 100% sure of what I heard. But then out popped Burrito!

It reminded me of two things: First, this is my kind of humor. I remember years ago I hid inside a brand new garbage can to surprise a friend. I think it was a lot funnier to me than my friend. Second, also years ago, I did my masters thesis on play initiation in chimpanzees, specifically five chimpanzees who were living at the Chimpanzee and Human Communication Institute at Central Washington University (the two chimpanzees who are still living from that group, Tatu and Loulis, now live at the Fauna Foundation in Quebec).

Gathering data for my thesis was a joy because I spent hours watching videotapes (yes, actual videotapes – I told you it was years ago) of chimpanzees playing. From what I recall, most of the instances of play initiation were between friends Moja and Tatu, and I remember more than one instance of Tatu hiding behind a wall and then jumping out at Moja when she walked past, with a raucous game of chase ensuing.

We witness the chimpanzees initiate play all of the time here at the sanctuary, and often the initiator is Burrito. He’s a very funny and fun-loving guy with his human and chimpanzee friends.

Even when he’s spending time alone, he seems to amuse himself. While we were cleaning the playroom, I looked into the greenhouse and saw Burrito sitting in a box eating breakfast leftovers. He had pulled his scooter up next to him.

Without a doubt, humor has gotten me through some otherwise tough times and made good times even better. Maybe joke-telling or sharing humorous thoughts is the human equivalent of initiating play. I think that’s how I will think of it now.

A Little Bit of Everything

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Today’s blog has many themes. For starters, it’s Nutmeg’s 6th Birthday! Chad served up some extra grain for all the cattle for his special day, though Betsy was pretty sure it was just her day. Nutmeg is still a big sweet mama’s boy. Happy 6th Birthday Nutmeg, we are so lucky to have you here!

I literally squealed when Chad shared this photo of Nutmeg. I mean, look how dapper he looks and that curl on the top of his head is killing me!

The excitement keeps going! We are looking for artists for a contest! This is such a neat opportunity! The sanctuary is collaborating with the students at CWU, Primate Awareness Network and our local art gallery, Gallery One. One design will be selected and there will be a cash prize too! I almost forgot to mention, the chosen design will be printed on limited edition sway and be sold to benefit the chimps! There will also be a people’s choice award. Check out the Gallery One’s website for more details and peruse our blog if you need inspiration! Or maybe these portraits will awaken your creativity! I am so excited to see what people will create and how they will capture the chimp’s personalities!

Burrito is really enjoying this orange ball right now.

Foxie has the most piercing eyes.

Jamie.

Honey B.

Willy B.

Our wish-list is getting quite full. We have added our day to day items, future items for our new building, and lots of dolls for Foxie! We are trying to get as many of her favorite dolls as possible because they are getting harder to find lately!

The Doll Thief Strikes Again!

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The doll thief is back! While we did a deep clean on chimps playroom, Foxie and Jamie decided to play. Jamie has been in a great mood and as many of us know Foxie always tends to get the silly side out of Jamie. This play session may seem similar to last Friday, though not quite as epic as Jamie lifting Foxie up, but still pretty great!

After the play session was over, Foxie needed to rest.

And for those who need a daily dose of  Burrito, here he is enjoying his bags of chow :).

A Blossoming Friendship

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Since Burrito’s life-threatening situations, most particularly the rattlesnake incident, Jamie seems to be more tolerant of Burrito. It wasn’t that they weren’t friends before, they would play or groom from time to time. But something in their friendship has shifted. For example, Jamie often wants to go on walks alone with her caregivers; she will even hideout in the culvert to ditch everyone. Recently though, she doesn’t mind when Burrito joins, she doesn’t even try to ditch him! We find them going on adventures, like climbing the twister. They even share a barrel while eating! He is kind of her shadow sometimes. Could it be that Burrito is less reactive overall, maybe? Could it be the near death experience, possibly? Or it could be a little column A and a little column B, we will never know for certain. But, what I do know is that watching them share a barrel while eating a meal brings me more joy than words can express.

I mean look how close they are!

Burrito wearing a blanket around his neck. It looks like a sweat towel, which makes perfect sense for him because he is always working up a sweat. Wait, no, his caregivers are the ones sweating.

Bonus Mave photo! Personally, I love a good photo of chimps hands or feet clasped together.